That is what everyone thinks. Our secret is that we send in the Ghurkas while everyone else is still at their tea and sandwiches for the element of surprise.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
You never know your luck. Maybe you will be in one where you need frogmen.
Meanwhile the shepherd's crook reaches out from the curtain and weasel airlift is gently but firmly tugged offstage
Part 74, Chapter 1095
Chapter One Thousand Ninety-Five
3rd September 1954
Flensburg
When Arend Nuemann arrived at his new station he wasn’t particularly impressed by the red building designed to look like a castle. He had thought that he would spend the rest of his career aboard the SMS Rhineland. However, that great Lady had been put into storage with her sisters in Kiel and only needed a caretaker crew. An Oberdeckoffizier like Arend had been not only been reassigned but as the Captain of the Rhineland had told him it was an opportunity to give back to the High Seas Fleet in profound ways at the Naval Academy. Christof had been to be the Chief Gunner’s Mate aboard the SMS Berlin, one of the new Guided Missile Cruisers that was steaming for Taiwan. Arend knew that Christoph was a good fit for that. Still, he and Christoph had served aboard the same ship for the last decade and he knew that he would miss having the boy around.
“Sir?” One of the Cadets asked nervously as he entered Arend’s office, he had one of those now too. Aboard the Rhineland he had been the direct representative of the Captain, here it seemed that Arend played the same role except it was for the Academy’s Commandant.
“Yes” Arend replied, he still needed to remember that these Cadets were not the typical sailors he had ruled with an iron fist from the forecastle. Many of them had been schoolboys just a few days earlier. He was having to teach them the traditions of the Navy without breaking them too much. As it was, he managed to scare the crap out them without a whole lot of effort.
“Your wife has arrived, Sir” The Cadet said.
“Good” Arend said, “Send her in.”
That put an entirely different spin on things. Vera had said that she had business in Kiel and that she would bring the girls when she was done. Vera had already discovered that the housing for the Instructors was adequate and would be bringing Lucia with her. Teresa, Arend’s other step-daughter had gotten married a year earlier and Vera’s first grandchild was coming in a few months. Lucia was going to be starting another attempt at University here in Flensburg, finding the follow-through and sticking with a single field of study a bit difficult.
Getting up from his desk, Arend was wearing the white summer uniform of an Oberdeckoffizier and medals that had come from a life spent at sea. The most recent being the Red Eagle, enlisted grade, for his decades of exemplary service that had been awarded to him by Emperor Louis himself. He would have much rather be wearing the regular uniform that he had worn on the Rhineland but here it was formal uniforms while in the office. The white summer uniform attracted dirt in a way that had to be seen to be believed.
“You look so handsome in that uniform Arend” Vera said as with a smile as she walked in.
Then again, this uniform did have a few positive aspects to it. Coming home to Vera every night was certainly a nice change.
“How are you settling in at the new house?” Arend asked.
“It is very different” Vera replied, “Lucia actually likes that it is a lot smaller than the house in Kiel.”
“Fewer people too though” Arend pointed out. The house was part of the housing for the Academy’s Staff. Vera could easily have afforded to lease a house elsewhere in Flensburg, it would have raised questions about Arend’s finances.
“Christoph will be back next year” Vera replied, “And Teresa will visit with the baby from time to time.”
“Looking forward to that” Arend asked.
“Of course, I am” Vera answered as she looked out the window at the Tall Ships moored at the pier. “And this is such an amazing place.”
“I’m glad you like it” Arend replied.
“You couldn’t stay at sea forever, you know” Vera said, “The best you could have hoped for is to wash ashore in a place like this.”
Arend knew that Vera was probably right about that.
Washington D.C.
As the White House Liaison from the CIA, Frank Church had frequently had to explain to the President that in the strange world of Intelligence, frequently up was down, black was white and things that seemed counterintuitive were frequently the case.
“Our people ended up with the eyes of the entire world on them” Truman said as he looked at the photographs, “How on Earth are they supposed to do their job?”
“Actually, Sir, no one would believe that they are our people” Frank said, “And they are getting invited into places that they wouldn’t otherwise.”
“This was the plan?” Truman asked. From the tone of his voice it was clear what he thought of that.
“We didn’t expect that our agent would come so close to winning the race” Frank replied, “But yes, it was the plan.”
The President just harrumphed and went back to looking at the photographs. There were some pictures there that would have been extremely difficult to get otherwise. Russian soldiers and tanks in Central Asia, the warships of several nations docked at Tianjin and several other things that were of interest to the Analysts in Langley.
“What happens now?” Truman asked.
“We let them be wined and dined by European industry” Frank said, “Then in a couple weeks they’ll get their leash yanked back by us, but it will look like the Army is doing it.”
3rd September 1954
Flensburg
When Arend Nuemann arrived at his new station he wasn’t particularly impressed by the red building designed to look like a castle. He had thought that he would spend the rest of his career aboard the SMS Rhineland. However, that great Lady had been put into storage with her sisters in Kiel and only needed a caretaker crew. An Oberdeckoffizier like Arend had been not only been reassigned but as the Captain of the Rhineland had told him it was an opportunity to give back to the High Seas Fleet in profound ways at the Naval Academy. Christof had been to be the Chief Gunner’s Mate aboard the SMS Berlin, one of the new Guided Missile Cruisers that was steaming for Taiwan. Arend knew that Christoph was a good fit for that. Still, he and Christoph had served aboard the same ship for the last decade and he knew that he would miss having the boy around.
“Sir?” One of the Cadets asked nervously as he entered Arend’s office, he had one of those now too. Aboard the Rhineland he had been the direct representative of the Captain, here it seemed that Arend played the same role except it was for the Academy’s Commandant.
“Yes” Arend replied, he still needed to remember that these Cadets were not the typical sailors he had ruled with an iron fist from the forecastle. Many of them had been schoolboys just a few days earlier. He was having to teach them the traditions of the Navy without breaking them too much. As it was, he managed to scare the crap out them without a whole lot of effort.
“Your wife has arrived, Sir” The Cadet said.
“Good” Arend said, “Send her in.”
That put an entirely different spin on things. Vera had said that she had business in Kiel and that she would bring the girls when she was done. Vera had already discovered that the housing for the Instructors was adequate and would be bringing Lucia with her. Teresa, Arend’s other step-daughter had gotten married a year earlier and Vera’s first grandchild was coming in a few months. Lucia was going to be starting another attempt at University here in Flensburg, finding the follow-through and sticking with a single field of study a bit difficult.
Getting up from his desk, Arend was wearing the white summer uniform of an Oberdeckoffizier and medals that had come from a life spent at sea. The most recent being the Red Eagle, enlisted grade, for his decades of exemplary service that had been awarded to him by Emperor Louis himself. He would have much rather be wearing the regular uniform that he had worn on the Rhineland but here it was formal uniforms while in the office. The white summer uniform attracted dirt in a way that had to be seen to be believed.
“You look so handsome in that uniform Arend” Vera said as with a smile as she walked in.
Then again, this uniform did have a few positive aspects to it. Coming home to Vera every night was certainly a nice change.
“How are you settling in at the new house?” Arend asked.
“It is very different” Vera replied, “Lucia actually likes that it is a lot smaller than the house in Kiel.”
“Fewer people too though” Arend pointed out. The house was part of the housing for the Academy’s Staff. Vera could easily have afforded to lease a house elsewhere in Flensburg, it would have raised questions about Arend’s finances.
“Christoph will be back next year” Vera replied, “And Teresa will visit with the baby from time to time.”
“Looking forward to that” Arend asked.
“Of course, I am” Vera answered as she looked out the window at the Tall Ships moored at the pier. “And this is such an amazing place.”
“I’m glad you like it” Arend replied.
“You couldn’t stay at sea forever, you know” Vera said, “The best you could have hoped for is to wash ashore in a place like this.”
Arend knew that Vera was probably right about that.
Washington D.C.
As the White House Liaison from the CIA, Frank Church had frequently had to explain to the President that in the strange world of Intelligence, frequently up was down, black was white and things that seemed counterintuitive were frequently the case.
“Our people ended up with the eyes of the entire world on them” Truman said as he looked at the photographs, “How on Earth are they supposed to do their job?”
“Actually, Sir, no one would believe that they are our people” Frank said, “And they are getting invited into places that they wouldn’t otherwise.”
“This was the plan?” Truman asked. From the tone of his voice it was clear what he thought of that.
“We didn’t expect that our agent would come so close to winning the race” Frank replied, “But yes, it was the plan.”
The President just harrumphed and went back to looking at the photographs. There were some pictures there that would have been extremely difficult to get otherwise. Russian soldiers and tanks in Central Asia, the warships of several nations docked at Tianjin and several other things that were of interest to the Analysts in Langley.
“What happens now?” Truman asked.
“We let them be wined and dined by European industry” Frank said, “Then in a couple weeks they’ll get their leash yanked back by us, but it will look like the Army is doing it.”
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I can't help but read that as Alfred E., each time
And just this once, the Americans succeed!
I think Mr. Truman is used to the methods Schultz used and not going the other way with that kind of misdirection.
This is the best place for Arend and as an added bonus he has a wealth of stories about the Grand Admiral (and from now on in the future Jacob von Schmidt will always be referred to as "The Grand Admiral" by everyone no matter who is actually the Grand Admiral of the KLM) that will only add to his legend.
Most of that fear comes from the stories that the instructors who served as officers on the same ships tell about him when they were cadets and junior officers themselves.
While the Heer has Horst as their supreme asskicker, the KLM can counter that with Arend Neumann.
Well, I'm glad that you're admitting it, that's the first step to getting better.
Part 74, Chapter 1096
Chapter One Thousand Ninety-Six
6th September 1954
London, England
This should have been the day of the greatest triumph in the Admiralty, but it felt like it was a funeral. They were looking at the photographs that had come from Kiel. The SMS Preussen and her sister ships, the last German Battleships moored on a concrete pier. The turrets and superstructure being wrapped in plastic sheeting against the day that the ships might be needed again. A day that those who were knowledgeable on the subject knew would probably never come.
No one in the Admiralty wanted to admit it but the truth was that Grand Admiral von Schmidt had timed this perfectly. He had killed them as surely as if one of those ships had steamed up the Thames and fired directly on this building. Parliament was debating the future of the Fleet and the entire Navy was suddenly on the chopping block. If there was no longer a German Battle Fleet out there then what did they need one for? Pointing towards the American fleet or the large number of other surface units that the German Fleet still had just didn’t have the same effect.
Now it was a question of how badly things were going to get before they could stop the bleeding.
Potsdam
The First Foot was returning to barracks after what had been successful exercises. Kat knew that they were in far better shape than Stefan’s Platoon. The last Kat had seen of them they had been in Wunsdorf trying to clean the high visibility orange paint off their uniforms and equipment. Kat had tried to warn Stefan that he was tangling with Spetsnaz a few different times. Stefan had managed to spring a few surprises on them in the field, but they had gotten even by setting paint bombs in the APCs that were to take them back to Wunsdorf on the last day. Working closely with Hans and Stefan had been fun, it was something that she had never imagined would happen.
As the Commanding Officer of the First Foot Guard Regiment Kat was riding in a car at the head of the column. Looking out the window Kat saw Douglas was waiting for her on the edge of the parade ground with the other families. As the lorries rolled to a stop, the First Foot spilled out and fell in. This was one of the few times that the entire Regiment would be seen in its entirety. Most other times there were always detachments who had responsibilities to the Emperor and the Royal Family. For another day the Second Foot would be playing to role of the First until they resumed their traditional role.
Today, they looked dirty and ragged after spending a week in the field. The thing that was noticeable was that now that were here was that many were wearing the red berets of the SKA/Fallschirmjäger Corps and the rest were wearing the dark green of the First Foot with equal pride.
Kat noticed that Lea Bäcker was in her place beside her Platoon. That had worked out well, she was exactly where she belonged. It had been through happenstance that Lea had ended up in charge of the First Foot’s Sniper section while in the field. There was a great deal of respect and fear involved with that position.
“Everyone is accounted for Ma’am” Kat heard Schafer say interrupting her thoughts, “This is the part where you dismiss them.”
“Oh” Kat replied, feeling very much out of her depth. When she yelled “Dismissed!” formally ending the field maneuvers, it sounded wrong to her ears.
With that they all scattered with shocking speed.
“You don’t need to call me Ma’am” Kat said to Schafer as they walked in the direction of where Doug was waiting. “You’ve known me since I was what, fifteen?”
“Yeah” Schafer said, “I called Thorwald Sir even though I knew him since he was not much older than that. It’s just how it is done.”
“If you say so” Kat replied. These days Schafer was content to teach here in Potsdam and in Judenbach, Introduction to Dirty Tricks was what that class was being called. “What is your opinion of the new XO?”
Schafer’s face went blank, “He will keep things moving smoothly while you are away.”
Of all the perverse timing she had been planning on taking leave after all of this had concluded for months. Finding herself in charge of the Regiment had not been a part of the plan.
Wunsdorf-Zossen
The preliminary results of the Autumn Exercise had come back, and Emil winced when he saw it. It was written out like a guide to the Reichstag telling them where to cut next. The success of the Lynx II in the field was actually a double-edged sword. Which Divisions were going to take it square in the teeth so that they could afford to upgrade the Panzer Corps, especially because the Generals were already clamoring for the new toy. It was the sort of thing that always resulted in hard feelings and made Emil glad that dueling had fallen out of fashion.
The rest of the report regarded the observed performance of their Allies. The French were overly aggressive, the British too cautious and the Russians were still having issues with their Officer Corps. Emil knew that all of had to be taken with a grain of salt because his observers were completely biased and still looked at the others, the French and Russians in particular as THE ENEMY. Oddly, the Italians were coming off fairly well, having learned a thing or two over the last few years.
6th September 1954
London, England
This should have been the day of the greatest triumph in the Admiralty, but it felt like it was a funeral. They were looking at the photographs that had come from Kiel. The SMS Preussen and her sister ships, the last German Battleships moored on a concrete pier. The turrets and superstructure being wrapped in plastic sheeting against the day that the ships might be needed again. A day that those who were knowledgeable on the subject knew would probably never come.
No one in the Admiralty wanted to admit it but the truth was that Grand Admiral von Schmidt had timed this perfectly. He had killed them as surely as if one of those ships had steamed up the Thames and fired directly on this building. Parliament was debating the future of the Fleet and the entire Navy was suddenly on the chopping block. If there was no longer a German Battle Fleet out there then what did they need one for? Pointing towards the American fleet or the large number of other surface units that the German Fleet still had just didn’t have the same effect.
Now it was a question of how badly things were going to get before they could stop the bleeding.
Potsdam
The First Foot was returning to barracks after what had been successful exercises. Kat knew that they were in far better shape than Stefan’s Platoon. The last Kat had seen of them they had been in Wunsdorf trying to clean the high visibility orange paint off their uniforms and equipment. Kat had tried to warn Stefan that he was tangling with Spetsnaz a few different times. Stefan had managed to spring a few surprises on them in the field, but they had gotten even by setting paint bombs in the APCs that were to take them back to Wunsdorf on the last day. Working closely with Hans and Stefan had been fun, it was something that she had never imagined would happen.
As the Commanding Officer of the First Foot Guard Regiment Kat was riding in a car at the head of the column. Looking out the window Kat saw Douglas was waiting for her on the edge of the parade ground with the other families. As the lorries rolled to a stop, the First Foot spilled out and fell in. This was one of the few times that the entire Regiment would be seen in its entirety. Most other times there were always detachments who had responsibilities to the Emperor and the Royal Family. For another day the Second Foot would be playing to role of the First until they resumed their traditional role.
Today, they looked dirty and ragged after spending a week in the field. The thing that was noticeable was that now that were here was that many were wearing the red berets of the SKA/Fallschirmjäger Corps and the rest were wearing the dark green of the First Foot with equal pride.
Kat noticed that Lea Bäcker was in her place beside her Platoon. That had worked out well, she was exactly where she belonged. It had been through happenstance that Lea had ended up in charge of the First Foot’s Sniper section while in the field. There was a great deal of respect and fear involved with that position.
“Everyone is accounted for Ma’am” Kat heard Schafer say interrupting her thoughts, “This is the part where you dismiss them.”
“Oh” Kat replied, feeling very much out of her depth. When she yelled “Dismissed!” formally ending the field maneuvers, it sounded wrong to her ears.
With that they all scattered with shocking speed.
“You don’t need to call me Ma’am” Kat said to Schafer as they walked in the direction of where Doug was waiting. “You’ve known me since I was what, fifteen?”
“Yeah” Schafer said, “I called Thorwald Sir even though I knew him since he was not much older than that. It’s just how it is done.”
“If you say so” Kat replied. These days Schafer was content to teach here in Potsdam and in Judenbach, Introduction to Dirty Tricks was what that class was being called. “What is your opinion of the new XO?”
Schafer’s face went blank, “He will keep things moving smoothly while you are away.”
Of all the perverse timing she had been planning on taking leave after all of this had concluded for months. Finding herself in charge of the Regiment had not been a part of the plan.
Wunsdorf-Zossen
The preliminary results of the Autumn Exercise had come back, and Emil winced when he saw it. It was written out like a guide to the Reichstag telling them where to cut next. The success of the Lynx II in the field was actually a double-edged sword. Which Divisions were going to take it square in the teeth so that they could afford to upgrade the Panzer Corps, especially because the Generals were already clamoring for the new toy. It was the sort of thing that always resulted in hard feelings and made Emil glad that dueling had fallen out of fashion.
The rest of the report regarded the observed performance of their Allies. The French were overly aggressive, the British too cautious and the Russians were still having issues with their Officer Corps. Emil knew that all of had to be taken with a grain of salt because his observers were completely biased and still looked at the others, the French and Russians in particular as THE ENEMY. Oddly, the Italians were coming off fairly well, having learned a thing or two over the last few years.
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And the crowning detail....the final Spetnaz blow to the pride of Stefan and Jost........Never, EVER, accept a challenge to a Vodka Drinking Contest with a Damn Russian, and a Spetnaz specially....
Short to say tomorrow Stefan and his fellow soldiers are going to wake up feeling like if their heads were hit for a saturation artillery strike several times over....And to boot....General Horst its visiting.......
The Italians OTl were, as I recall, theoretically capable of great things. Their navy frogmen were great and their infantry could do well.
The issue was always that most of the enlisted couldn't be bothered to care, the officers were mostly useless, their weapons terrible, and logistics nonexistent.
So yeah, the Italians can do well if motivated and supplied.
The Royal Navy has to find a role for itself and with this timeline being so different from OTL it is going to be harder to find that.
IOTL it was able to find a role in ASW to keep the Atlantic open from the Soviet Navy and ITTL what can the Royal Navy offer to justify its budget?
I can see with Ballistic Missile Submarines being the main threat from both German and American Navies that an increased ASW presence is needed, Guided Missiles Cruisers are also an option if they are able to ride nuclear armed missiles.
IOTL it was able to find a role in ASW to keep the Atlantic open from the Soviet Navy and ITTL what can the Royal Navy offer to justify its budget?
I can see with Ballistic Missile Submarines being the main threat from both German and American Navies that an increased ASW presence is needed, Guided Missiles Cruisers are also an option if they are able to ride nuclear armed missiles.
Oh, I'd say ASW is downright critical for the Royal Navy given these circumstances. Why? Imagine how terrifying the Soviet Navy would have been if it had superior submarines than the Americans and Royal Navy. You might see outright ASW-focused carriers designed to do area denial for large parts of the ocean.
With a mainly rail based Eurasian network of trade Germany is unlikely to focus on suppression of piracy (still a problem in the Far East) and arms and drug smuggling by sea. The Royal Navy still can have a considerable role in protecting maritime trade.